[:ja]ISSから大西宇宙飛行士が撮影したアフリカ大陸北部のサハラ砂漠です。ロシアのソユーズもきれいに写っていて迫力があります。
NASAの研究によると、大西洋で起こる数十年周期の海面温度変動が、アフリカ大陸に影響を与えていることがわかっています。赤道地域は毎年降雨量が多いのですが、南北地域は大変乾燥しています。
特に、サハラ砂漠南縁端のサヘルという半乾燥地域は、この変動の影響を受け、1960年代後半に降雨量が著しく減少し、1968年から1972年の間に数十万人もの餓死者が出ています。
ウェブ地球儀で地球俯瞰画像を見る： LiVEARTH
[Earthview Wonders] No.79: Soyuz and Africa
Astronaut Onishi capured this image of Sahara Desert of the African Continent with Soyuz.
According to NASA’s research, Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation of sea surface temperature strongly affects the dryness of the Continent. While heavy rains soak Central Africa each year, the north and the south ends of the continent are fairly dry.
Especially the people living in the Sahel, the southern rim area of the Sahara Desert, are largely influenced by this fluctuation, and dry period between 1968 and 1972 resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths of starvation.
See earthview photo gallery with web-globe: LiVEARTH[:en][Earthview Wonders] No.79: Soyuz and Africa
Astronaut Onishi capured this image of Sahara Desert of the African Continent with Soyuz.
According to NASA’s research, Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation of sea surface temperature strongly affects the dryness of the Continent. While heavy rains soak Central Africa each year, the north and the south ends of the continent are fairly dry.
Especially the people living in the Sahel, the southern rim area of the Sahara Desert, are largely influenced by this fluctuation, and dry period between 1968 and 1972 resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths of starvation.
See earthview photo gallery with web-globe: LiVEARTH[:]